A rights group, Centre for Advancement of Peace, Security and Social Development (CAPSSD) has faulted the recent spate of sensational and promotional articles in national dailies on top security officers in the country.
It described the publications as a deliberate ploy to cause disaffection among the heads of the country’s security agencies.
The CSO in a statement signed by its executive director, Mallam Mustapha Abubakar Funtua, said if the trend was checked, it could jeopardise the security of Nigeria and set the officers and the agencies they represent against each other and the enemy.
“Our attention has been drawn to series of highly sensational and promotional articles published in national dailies recently, and as a civil society organisation (CSO) that seeks to monitor and advocate for effective peace building and sustainable social development in the country, it has become imperative to raise the alarm over what we see as deliberate attempts to cause disaffection and endanger the synergy amongst Security chiefs and their foot soldiers across the country.”
“We are appalled with the media coverage of sensitive personnel and units in our security architecture. The perpetrators of this act are intentional in causing disaffection amongst the security chiefs but have been hiding under the banner of promoting their targets. This is dangerous for our fragile security situation and must not be allowed to go unchecked.”
Funtua drew the attention of Nigerians to the fact that intelligence gathering and security operations are private and secret undertakings. Deliberately exposing the names of serving officers in missions and publishing details of their actions is tantamount with leaking classified information to the enemy.
“It has become necessary for the Army, the Police and other security agencies to tighten their grip over sensitive information as many people are now abusing the privilege that comes with free flow of information under the Freedom of Information Act. Writing promotional articles about serving officers should therefore be considered as leakage of classified information and tagged treasonable,”, the statement added.
